Sheffield over 50s given a sporting chance

Stephanie Bateman

Sheffield over 50s were joined by special guests including Anne Murphey, the Lord Mayor of Sheffield at Longley Four greens Community Centre yesterday (19 June 2017) to celebrate the launch of Volunteering Matters project, Sporting Chance.

The project, which has been a huge success in Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees is now coming to Sheffield thanks to support from the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Sporting Chance offers a range of free activities, such as exercise classes and social groups. The aim is to improve both the mental and physical well-being of older men, who are often isolated and more likely to suffer from serious long-term illness. National charity, Volunteering Matters introduced Sporting Chance to the city with activity taster sessions including badminton, bowls and indoor kurling.

Jamie Crowther, Project Development Officer at Volunteering Matters, said: “We were over the moon to see so many local residents at the launch event in Sheffield. Everyone in the city has been amazing and we’ve already got some brilliant activities lined up thanks to support from the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.

“We know that Sporting Chance is effective in preventing and managing symptoms of conditions such as diabetes, stroke and chronic respiratory disease. It has been hugely successful in other areas, both from physical and mental health points of view and we hope to replicate that success in Sheffield.”

Cutting the ribbon to open up the activities, Anne Murphey, the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, said: “There’s an assumption that older men in Sheffield aren’t isolated, that they have their own activities and things to do but, but sadly this isn’t the case. I’m very happy to see Sporting Chance come to Sheffield and want to thank all of those involved in the project from Middlesbrough for coming such a long way to support the launch. Hopefully in a year’s time we’ll have the same number of participants here in Sheffield who can go to another city or town and support the project’s arrival there.”

If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved as either a participant or a volunteer contact Jamie Crowther on 07841430165 or Lisa Harman on 078414301171.

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